


Love and Other Stuffs

by Nikko_chan



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: 5+1 Things, Canon Compliant, Falling In Love, Feelings Realization, First Year Akaashi Keiji, Haikyuu!! Chapter 331 Spoilers, Jealousy, M/M, Oblivious Bokuto Koutarou, Pining, Second Year Akaashi Keiji, Second Year Bokuto Koutarou, Third Year Bokuto Koutarou, mentioned Kuroo & Kenma, mentioned karasuno
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2020-07-28
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:41:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25441054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nikko_chan/pseuds/Nikko_chan
Summary: Akaashi was laughing at the scene, his eyes twinkling and his grin broader than ever. He had never seen Akaashi laugh. In fact, it was fairly difficult to even get a smile from the setter, but at this moment, he was laughing — because of Bokuto. It wasn't anything special or any different from the any other person's laughter, but somehow, he knew he'd always remember this sound.That day Bokuto discovered he wouldn't mind messing up his serve and getting hit on the head, only if he got to see Akaashi laugh.(Or, five times Bokuto didn't realize he fell in love and one time he did)
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou
Comments: 34
Kudos: 367





	1. (i)

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Haikyuu!! belongs to Haruichi Furudate.

Bokuto sniffled again as he sat under the table. He had to crouch down to accommodate his muscular body under the small table and his joints were starting to ache from the awkward position, the strain too much for his already tired body. His nose was snotty from crying and he wanted to wipe the leaked mucus, but he could hardly move his arms to reach his face. Even his neck was hurting from being bent in that uncomfortable angle. But no matter how much painful it was, he was not going to come out.

Bokuto had never felt so frustrated in his life, not even when his mother wouldn't let him go outside to play unless he finished his homework or when he had that horrible math test where every word and every number seemed like alien language to him. The bitter sensation of defeat was still running in his body. The images of the match they played earlier flashed in his head like an irritating commercial.

They played Kawahori High in the second round of a tournament and lost mercilessly. It hurt, getting out of the tournament so early in their journey after they worked so hard for it. But they had another chance before the current third years graduated, in the Spring Interhigh. What pricked Bokuto most about the defeat was the fact that almost every one of his cross shots were snubbed by Kawahori blockers.

Cross shots were Bokuto's speciality, and if he had any say in that, he'd say he was damn good at it too. Of course, sometimes they did get blocked, but never like this. Kawahori's blockers caught on to his crosses much faster than they'd expected, and no matter how much force he put into it, the ball didn't reach the opponent court.

It was humiliating.

Bokuto liked playing volleyball. It was hard and energy-consuming, but it was also fun. He didn't love the sport like some other people did, like the famous V League player whose interview he'd watched on TV. Bokuto didn't remember the name of that player, but he remembered what that player said to the host: "Since the moment I scored a point for my junior high team, I knew I was born to play volleyball."

Bokuto remembered the words, but he could never relate. He liked volleyball, but if someone asked him whether he would pursue the sport in the future, he knew he couldn't answer with certainty. But that didn't matter as long as he was having fun. He liked the feeling when the ball touched his palm, and the loud thumping sound the ball made after a strong spike, and the cheer of the audience and his teammates.

He liked the way the whole stadium chanted his name as if he was the most special person in the world. So, he was not going to give up on it. He was going to work harder and kick Kawahori's ass in the Spring Tournament.

Bokuto saw Akaashi taking some towels to the third years, and a ray of hope bloomed in his darkness of distress. He knew what to do now and he knew just the person to ask for help.

"Akaashi," Bokuto called, his voice smaller than it had ever been. Akaashi turned around and was visibly surprised to see his upperclassman sitting under the table, but when he spoke, his voice didn't have a trace of emotion. Bokuto always found that funny about the setter.

"Yes."

"Practice spikes with me for just a lil' bit?"

Bokuto knew the answer. He knew Akaashi would say yes and practice with him without complaint, just like he often did on Bokuto's request, but still hearing Akaashi's reply supplied him the confidence and optimism he'd lost in that match earlier.

"... Sure."

They continued their practice even after everyone left and the stars were visible in the dark sky. Bokuto had already realized that relying on only his cross-shots couldn't guarantee victory, and he had to up his game to avoid getting blocked again. So, he practiced straight-shots.

Akaashi tossed to him relentlessly, every ball set to his favorite spot — high and close to the net. He hit each and every ball, mindful of their direction. While first few he instinctively spiked diagonally, the later ones were hit straight. They weren't perfect or even consistent, but Bokuto could feel that he was getting the hang of it.

Even though his arms and legs were starting to ache, and his lungs starting to burn, it wouldn't stop him from spiking another dozen. But as his own fatigue started to increase bit by bit, he remembered his underclassman who was tossing to him. Akaashi looked far more tired than Bokuto, sweat rolling down his face and cheeks flushed from overworking. He was panting profusely, and his precision was lowering with each toss. A pang of guilt rumbled in Bokuto's heart.

"Oi, Akaashi," Bokuto called, holding the ball in his hands instead of throwing in the air. Akaashi looked at him, his expression deadpan but his swallow breathing gave him away. "Take a break, okay? I'm gonna practice my serves a little."

Akaashi must've been relieved, but his face remained devoid of any emotion. Bokuto wondered sometimes what was going on in the younger boy's head, and how could he keep everything to himself. It was almost impossible to read Akaashi, but sometimes — just sometimes, Bokuto felt like he could understand the setter's feelings just as easily as he could understand his own. Like at this momemt when he knew what poked Akaashi's mind.

"Aren't you going to take a break, Bokuto-san?"

Bokuto smiled, large and blinding because Akaashi didn't disappoint him. It was one of the many things he liked about this boy he'd met only three months ago. Akaashi might seem cold and uncaring on the surface with his impassive expression and blunt comments, but he knew the young setter was one of the most caring people he knew, and that made Akaashi one of the best people in the whole wide world, at least in Bokuto's eyes.

"Don't worry about me, Akaashi," Bokuto's grin never faded as he said. "I still have lots of stamina in me. I can do this all day!"

Akaashi nodded and took his bottle to drink some water. Bokuto didn't waste any more time. He needed to work on his jump serve, and he intended to guarantee a service ace every time he served in the Spring Tournament. He threw in ball high in the air and jumped. He might have taken his tiredness less seriously than he should’ve because his thighs ached painfully as he jumped, and he couldn't reach the ample height to hit the ball. His hand slipped through the air, and somehow the ball fell on his head with a thump.

Before Bokuto could've reacted on the miserable attempt of a serve, a foreign but pleasant sound filled the gymnasium. He turned around, and for a teeny tiny moment, his heart stopped beating.

Akaashi was laughing at the scene, his eyes twinkling and his grin broader than ever. He had never seen Akaashi laugh. In fact, it was fairly difficult to even get a smile from the setter, but at this moment, he was laughing — because of Bokuto. It wasn't anything special or any different from the any other person's laughter, but somehow, he knew he'd always remember this sound.

That day Bokuto discovered he wouldn't mind messing up his serve and getting hit on the head, only if he got to see Akaashi laugh.

He blamed the flush on his cheeks on the exhaustion.


	2. (ii)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Haikyuu!! belongs to Haruichi Furudate.

When the day started in the morning, Bokuto was having a terrific day. Before waking up, he was having a beautiful dream where Fukurodani won the Spring Tournament and he alone scored more than half of all points and everyone in the stadium was chanting his name and every girl wanted to be his girlfriend. His teammates were patting him on the back, saying that he was the best ace. Akaashi was there too, giving him a small smile and saying, "That last straight shot was really brilliant, Bokuto-san."

Even in his dreams, Bokuto felt his heart warm at that little compliment.

His breakfast was great too. He ate with his family, and his father promised them to go out to a barbecue restaurant in the weekends. He even had playful bickering and friendly brawl with his little sister; he won by pulling her pigtails and messing up her hair. His mother prepared him a special bento, with a promise of a surprise. Bokuto was beyond excited. It was a perfect start of a day.

His journey to school was fun too. He met with Akaashi, Konoha and Komi on the subway station, and they discussed a recently released horror film that Komi had already seen, Konoha was dying to see and Bokuto was too afraid to see. Akaashi had mentioned his disinterest for that genre and listened to the second-years gush among them with a few comments thrown by him every now and then.

Their morning practice was great. Everyone was energetic and attentive, and there was a general good environment around them. Coach Yamiji didn't have to scold them much, and their captain was more patient with them than usual too. Bokuto practiced his straight shots with Akaashi, and he could see the improvement in both their skills. It made him incredibly happy.

But every good thing had to stop somewhere, and for Bokuto that stopped when his classes began. He was never very attentive in his studies, and on that particular day, the story of the horror movie they discussed before was running in his head, placing himself in the scary scenarios. The blabber of the teacher never even reached his ears until his teacher yelled at him with burning fury. "Bokuto, why are you spacing out in the class? Keep your mind in the class. Your quiz results are abysmal."

Bokuto didn't know what abysmal meant but judging by the laughter that erupted in the class, he guessed it wasn't any good. Oh man, not another bad score and this time his father was definitely cancelling the barbecue plan.

Bokuto pouted and hoped that the rest of the day would go just as well as his morning went, except for this stupid class. He was wrong. He was horribly wrong.

Before lunchtime came, Bokuto had already lost in arm-wrestling against Kitamura, captain of the soccer team, had found out that the homework he'd previously thought was due on Friday was actually due on this day and he had to endure another scolding from another teacher, and had choked on his chewing gum, causing their School Council President who was passing by, to save him and give him another round of cranky scolding for being an idiot.

By the time lunchtime came, Bokuto was already half-dead in his spirit. But with lunchtime came a new optimism and excitement of pleasant company and pleasant food. Since the time he and Akaashi started practicing his straight shots, Bokuto had deliberately gone to the first-years' floor and persuaded Akaashi to eat lunch together with him. While the younger boy had hesitated at first, he soon gave in to the nagging of his upperclassman. So, every day Bokuto went to the first-years' floor and fetched Akaashi, and the two of them ate their lunches together. It had become a routine he cherished.

He did get weird looks from other students, both first years and second years, who probably thought it was pathetic of him to cling to an underclassman like this instead of hanging out with his own classmates. But Bokuto didn't mind. They didn't know that even though Akaashi was one-year junior than him, he was smart and far more interesting than anyone in the whole school. He might not talk very much, but he always listened and gave his input when needed.

That was what he liked most about these shared lunches with Akaashi — their talks. They talked about everything, well mostly Bokuto talked but sometimes even Akaashi told stories about various things including his classmates and what films he watched. They talked about volleyball and the plays they watched on TV and thought cool. Even when they didn't talk and ate their lunches quietly, it was fun. The silence between them was surprisingly comforting.

Over their casual conversions and eating, Bokuto also came to know a number of new things about Akaashi:

One, Akaashi loved owls, just like him. His favorite species was rufous-legged owls while Bokuto loved horned owls more.

Two, Akaashi preferred vegetables to meat, a fact that'd shaken Bokuto to his core.

Three, Akaashi loved reading books, mainly novels and stories. Bokuto was someone who felt reading was boring but judging by the fact that Akaashi was so smart and cool, he should've guessed that.

Four, Akaashi wanted to gain some muscles and increase his physical strength more. Bokuto agreed with him. Akaashi was tall and lean and fit, but a little more muscle would be helpful for his game.

Five and most importantly, Akaashi never shared food. He was lean and all, but boy he could eat! At first Bokuto was shocked to find the amount of food consumed by the setter even rivalled his own, and he would never, never ever, share his food, no matter who asked. Bokuto had learned it the hard way. In their first week of eating together, when Bokuto had gone to try a piece of t _amagoyaki_ , the usually polite boy had downright slapped his hand away without any second thought. After that there had been several instances when he got to experience the selfish possessiveness Akaashi felt for his food.

"Akaashi!" Bokuto called, loud and cheerful when he noticed the setter in his classroom, taking out his bento box out of the bag. A few students were staring at Bokuto and snickering among themselves, but he decided not to pay heed to them. He had both his special bento box with a surprise and Akaashi's company; his lunchtime was going to be far greater than the time he was experiencing.

Again, he was wrong. As they sat on roof together and Bokuto opened his bento box, he was shocked to find that somehow, among all the chaos he and his little sister were causing in the morning, he had taken his father's bento instead of his own. Now he had a meal in front of him that consisted way too many vegetables for his liking and none of the special surprise his mother had prepared for him.

"This is the worst day ever!" Bokuto groaned, stuffing some rice in his mouth and hiding his face in his knees. He could feel the little remaining of his positive spirit draining from him. He knew his dejected phase was coming, but he didn't want to be stuck like that. He wanted to go to the afternoon practice with all his might and practice straights until his arms fall off. But the negative feelings wouldn't go away. They'd dampen his mood until—

"Bokuto-san," Akaashi's voice came, flat as ever, and Bokuto looked up to find Akaashi holding out his open bento towards him. "Do you want _agemono_? I have _chicken karaage_ today."

Bokuto looked at the food offered to him, then back at Akaashi. "Are you sure, Akaashi? You don't wanna eat it?"

"No, it's okay. I don't like it very much." The setter replied in that monotonous voice, but something in Bokuto was clenching its way around his heart, and warmth spread across his body, every cell vibrating with something he didn't recognize, but found that he didn't mind anyway.

Bokuto took a piece of _agemono_ with his chopsticks, his smile never wavering even as the food entered his mouth. He couldn't help but sneak small glances at the boy in front of him, impassive and expressionless, but someone much deeper than he'd anticipated: a setter who tossed to him until they both fell from exhaustion, an underclassman who discussed movies with him, a friend who ate lunch with him, and a boy who made him feel invincible.

"Thanks, Akaashi!" Bokuto exclaimed as he chewed the food happily.

"Sure."

Bokuto didn't mind the short, uninterested reply. Because he knew Akaashi cared. Because he knew Akaashi loved _chicken karaage_. Because he knew Akaashi never shared his food, yet he shared it with him.

He was happy.

He was going to blame that happiness for the fluttering in his stomach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another one. Bokuto is still a second year in this one while Akaashi is a first year. Let me know what you guys think about it!


	3. (iii)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made some edits in this. Nothing major, just a few introductary paragraphs and some grammer mistakes.
> 
> Disclaimer: Haikyuu!! belongs to Haruichi Furudate.

"Man, captain's gonna chew me out today!" Bokuto groaned in despair, heading towards the club-room with Konoha and Komi. He rubbed his hands together in an attempt to produce some heat in his body, but nothing stood a chance against the cold January air. Bokuto shivered and fastened his pace. They needed to get inside the club-room as soon as possible if they wanted to live.

"It's your fault," Konoha remarked rather unkindly, flashing a smirk at him. "Should the Ace himself be late to practice?" Komi snickered beside him.

"It's not my fault! Sensei made me correct all the questions I got wrong in quiz!" Bokuto whined. "And there were so many questions! I'm beat!" Then he remembered something, and glared at his two friends. "Hey, you guys are late too!"

The duo sighed together, shaking their head. "We were copying the English homework from Shirofuku. She made us promise to treat her," Komi said and sighed again when the remembered the girl's huge appetite. "I'm gonna be broke."

Bokuto laughed out loud at his friend's expression. He sympathized with the libero. More than once he had in that spot, and he shivered again, this time from the reminder of his own misery when he'd taken Shirofuku for ramen after copying her homework. He had never been poorer than that evening.

The three of them entered the club-room together, and found it empty. The others were already in gym. Nationals of Spring Tournament were starting in less than a month, and the whole team was more excited than ever. Bokuto, himself, had never been more pumped to play volleyball. It was like something in him changed the moment they defeated Kawahori in the Kanto Region Tournament, and he crushed their blocks with his straights. It was a moment so glorious that he'd never forget it.

They had just finished changing in their gym clothes when Suzumeda enetered the clubroom. She flashed them a lop-sided smile, her eyes sparkling with mischief as she said, "Hey, guys, come out for a moment."

The boys exchanged curious looks. Konoha frowned doubtfully. "Why?"

Suzumeda's smirk widened. "Akaashi's getting a confession."

"What?!" The three of them exclaimed in unison, their loud voice booming in the room. Suzumeda glared at them, her hands gesturing to keep their voices low. "Shut up and come see before it's over."

The boys scrambled outside, following their manager. They didn't have to go too far; they spotted the setter standing in a corner in the hallway by the stairways, and indeed he wasn't alone. There was girl standing in front of Akaashi, holding a pink envelope in her hands. Bokuto recognised the girl — he'd seen her several times in the first-years' floor when he'd gone to fetch Akaashi for lunch.

"She's cute," Komi whispered. The girl _was_ pretty, Bokuto noticed. In fact, very pretty, with her long wavy brown hair and big brown eyes and soft features. She was small and petite, her head reaching below Akaashi's shoulders, just above his elbows. But the height difference seemed kind of cute, like the _shojo_ mangas his sister sometimes read.

The girl was saying something, her voice too low for them hear the words, but her eyes were expressive and cheeks colored pink. Without even hearing the words, they knew she was confessing her feelings. She extended the envelope in her hands — no doubt, a love letter— to Akaashi who took it carefully from her hands, mindful not to cause a crease on the smooth paper.

Something in Bokuto's stomach twisted as he saw the couple from his spot. It was weird and frightening. He gulped the knot in his throat away, but the bitter taste in his tongue never left. He didn't even realize when he turned his face away from the romantic scene, and walked off without saying anything to his three friends.

When he entered the gym, the others had already began playing. Their coach scolded him for being late and told him to warm up, their captain asked about where the others were, Washio offered to block for his spikes; everything was happening normally around him, only he seemed to be far, far away. 

He didn't realize when Konoha and Komi came along with Suzumeda. He was busy stretching his limbs, and ignoring the hollow feeling in his chest. His attention only solidified with he heard their coach saying, "Akaashi, why are you late?"

"I'm sorry. I got held up," he heard Akaashi say. "It won't happen again."

Akaashi's voice was flat and emotionless as ever, not even a trace of any feeling could be heard. He should sound happy, after all he got a confession, and that too in his first year unlike Bokuto who, despite being a second year and a very cool guy, had never got a single confession.

Something in Bokuto snapped, and he felt angry and frustrated and sad and dejected, everything at once.

The rest of the practice went by both incredibly fast and painfully slow. He pointedly avoided Akaashi the whole time, even when the younger boy had come to talk to him. He had replied vaguely and straight-up turned around or left to talk to someone else. He didn't even practice with Akaashi; instead asked their third-year setter, Hideyoki to toss for him. Akaashi didn't say anything about this, quiet as always and practiced quick attacks with Sarukui.

None of Bokuto's spikes went through Washio's block, leaving him even more dejected than before. Hideyoki was a talented setter, but nothing beat Akaashi's tosses for him. He was getting restless, his mind flashing him imagages of Akaashi with the girl whenever his eyes darted to the setter tossing to Sarukui, high-fiving after successfully getting through blocks. 

"Oi, Bokuto!" Bokuto jumped in surprise when heard a sharp voice behind him. Turning around, he found Konoha frowning at him. "You okay?"

Bokuto nodded, but the blonde didn't seem to buy it. He continued piercing Bokuto with his mean stare and said, "You don't look okay. Your spikes suck today. What are you so upset about?"

Bokuto gulped a non-existent lump. "Why'd you say I'm upset? I'm not upset!"

"Don't give me that crap. You're acting weird since you saw Akaashi getting a confession." Bokuto frowned at him, ready to deny it when Konoha spoke again. "I get you, man. I mean I was pretty bummed too. First-years getting confessed when we didn't even get a single one! But don't be too jealous. Someday you'll get one too." Konoha patted his shoulders reassuringly, leaving the Ace stare at him with wide eyes.

Was that it? Was he just jealous that Akaashi had gotten a confession rather than him?

Maybe. Yeah, that's it.

When practice finally ended, Bokuto sat on the floor of the gym and sighed in relief. He wanted to go home and crawl into his bed and not leave it until this weird jealous feelings of his went away. After hearing that he was jealous from Konoha, Bokuto felt a little guilty too. Akaashi was his bestfriend. He should be happy for his friend, instead of being jealous. But no matter how many times he uttered the words in his mind, the pricking feel wouldn't go away.

"Bokuto-san," Akaashi's monotonous voice came, and Bokuto almost dropped the bottle from surprise. He looked up at Akaashi, and found the boy standing there alone in the gym. He must've looked curious, since Akaashi answered, "Everyone left. They said bye to you. Don't you remember?"

"Y-Yeah, I remember! I must've spaced out!" Bokuto forced out a laugh, panic surging in his body. He was alone with Akaashi, and he wanted nothing more than to escape from this usually pleasant company. He knew them being left alone after practice wasn't weird, since they practiced together till late almost everyday. It was a routine for them.

"Bokuto-san, why are you avoiding me?" Akaashi asked, sharp and straightforward.

"I-I'm not avoiding you, Akaashi! What are you saying?!" Bokuto sputtered.

Akaashi looked at him, calm and quiet, but there was something underlying in his expressionless face — a flash of hurt. Bokuto's heart squeezed inside his chest painfully. "Please don't lie to me, Bokuto-san. I know when I'm avoided," Akaashi voice had this weird edge in it. "Are you angry with me? Have I done anything to offend you? If so, then, I sincerely apologise. I didn't mean to—"

"Huh?! What are you saying, Akaashi?! You didn't offend me! Don't apologise!"

Akaashi's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Then what is it?"

Bokuto didn't answer, instead he lowered his gaze to stare at the bottle in his hands. He could feel Akaashi's keen eyes on him. "Hey, Akaashi," he began in small voice. "Do you have a girlfriend?"

"What?" Akaashi sounded bewildered. Bokuto flinched. He didn't dare to look up at him. "No, I don't, Bokuto-san. You know that. Why are you asking this all of a sudden?"

"But you got a confession today..."

"How do you know about that, Bokuto-san? Were you spying on me?"

"N-No! Of course not! Suzumeda told us, and then we saw you with that pretty girl, and she gave you a letter."

"Who are _'we'_? Konoha-san and Komi-san?" Akaashi asked, his voice had returned to being flat. When Bokuto nodded, he continued. "That explains the weird look they were giving me earlier."

"So, you have a girlfriend now, right?"

"No, I don't. I just told you."

Bokuto looked up at this and stared at the setter with wide eyes. "But—"

Akaashi sighed, like he always did when he saw Bokuto do something stupid. "I did get confessed, but I didn't accept it."

Bokuto's heart speedened. He didn't know why but suddenly he wasn't feeling dejected anymore. "Why?!"

Akaashi frowned, bothered by the way his upperclassman behaved. But Akaashi was nothing if not patient. "I have a lot on my plate right now, with studies and volleyball. I'm not currently looking for a relationship." When he noticed the huge grin spreading across Bokuto's face, he said again, "Is that why you were avoiding me? Because I got a confession? Were you jealous, Bokuto-san?"

Bokuto didn't reply. He was suddenly feeling too joyful to think about such things. Instead he said, "Will you toss to me, Akaashi? I want to practice my crosses!"

Akaashi sized him up with his eyes for a moment before speaking. "Of course I will toss to you, Bokuto-san."

Bokuto sprang to his feet, energy coursing through his body. The sudden but welcomed happiness was almost dizzying. He didn't mind, though. He was here and Akaashi was here and volleyball was here. That was an answer enough for his surprising joy.

The bitter feeling he had until a few minutes ago, that must've been because he didn't want to lose to Akaashi in terms of romance. He was older, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the kudos and comments, and also for reading this story. I appreciate it. ^u^
> 
> Like the previous two chapters, Bokuto is still a second year and Akaashi a first year.
> 
> Enjoy!


	4. (iv)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Haikyuu!! belongs to Haruichi Furudate.

Bokuto huffed some air for no particular reason, rapping his pencil on the wooden floor repeatedly. There were multiple books open in front of him, some his own and some belonged to his study partner, who also happened to write answers in his notebook like nothing else in the world mattered, while Bokuto, himself, had written only three sentences since they came home and began this joint study session, and he wasn't even that confident about the three sentences.

Glancing at the notebook with disdain, Bokuto tried to focus his attention to memorizing the English vocabulary that his homeroom teacher had advised them to do long ago, but Bokuto Koutarou was nothing if not a risk-taker. That might be it, or he'd simply forgotten about them until Shirofuku had reminded him during their volleyball practice. As he went through the unfamiliar pages of the book, he felt the familiar heaviness under his eyelids. Bokuto shook his vigorously, hoping to shake away the sleep that was slowly creeping onto him.

"Akaaaaashi," Bokuto called loudly, even though the setter was sitting right beside him. Akaashi stopped writing and looked up from his notebook.

"What is it, Bokuto-san?"

"I'm bored!" Bokuto whined, letting his head fall on the book in his lap with a loud thump. "I'm so bored I'll die!" he said in muffled voice.

"You're not going die from boredom, Bokuto-san."

Bokuto looked up from his lap, eyeing the other boy and sporting a pout. "Y'know what I mean! It's so boring! I don't want to do it!"

Akaashi sighed, as he always did when Bokuto said something he'd expected him to say. He kept his notebook back on the floor and set his eyes firmly on the older boy. "Then what do you want to do?"

Bokuto didn't even have to think twice about that. "I wanna play volleyball!"

Akaashi sighed again. He seemed to do that a lot. Bokuto wondered why. "We did play volleyball. Just an hour ago."

Bokuto's pout didn't go away. Of course, they played volleyball, but they didn't get to stay for extra practice like he and Akaashi usually did. He was feeling extra pumped today and had planned to spike some of his razor-sharp crosses. But instead he was here, surrounded by some of the most boring books in the world, trying to memorize English vocabulary. Their summer camp was coming around the around, but according to Akaashi, so was exams.

Bokuto had difficult feelings about studies. In simpler words, he hated it. The numbers, the spellings, the long passages, and longer explanations did him no good except for making his head hurt. He was conscious about his ability for studying and didn't dream to ace to tests. But he was confident about his athletic prowess and would rather play volleyball and practice his spikes until he was the best Ace in the whole country.

And even if they couldn't play volleyball, which he was sure at the moment that they wouldn't by the look of his setter, he thought they could do at least something fun together. Yes, it was true that anything he did with Akaashi seemed fun to him, including walking home together every day after practice or going to the mall together on weekends to ogle at expensive sports shoes, but unfortunately studying did not fall in the category. If only he could convince the younger boy!

"Akaashi," Bokuto whined again, and inevitably, Akaashi looked up from his notebook again. "You wanna play video games? I heard from Kuroo who heard from Kenma that this new game is very good. It has zombies and stuff. Wanna play together?"

"We can't play right now, Bokuto-san," Akaashi said, his voice not giving away the annoyance Bokuto knew he was feeling. "Because we are studying."

"But we've been studying for so long, Akaashi"

"It's just been one hour, Bokuto-san." Akaashi said and focused his attention back to his notebook. He was a diligent student like that, but Bokuto was getting impatient, both from studying and the lack of attention he was getting.

"But we have to up our game, Akaashi! Training camp is coming and we've to beat Nekoma and the others!" Bokuto punched the air for effect, not missing how the setter didn't even bat an eyelash at his speech. "And y'know, I heard from Kuroo there will be a new team coming too. Karasuno or something. Ain't that exciting? We'll beat them too!" The latter part of the speech was spoken with more vigour than the former one.

Akaashi finally looked at him. "Bokuto-san, you can't go to the training camp if you fail your tests," the setter deadpanned without mercy. "So, if you want to go, then I suggest you focus on your studies rather than distracting me from mine."

"Sorry," Bokuto mumbled, and Akaashi returned to his task without another word. He was scary. Bokuto did not want to piss him off anymore.

Unwillingly, Bokuto turned to the notebook in his hands, and read the notes he'd copied from Shirofuku. The foreign English letters made no sense to him at all. But he figured it was better than Mathematics which was his weakest and probably the worst subject in the universe. But unsurprisingly, Akaashi was quite good at it, like he was with everything else. Speaking of Akaashi—

Bokuto looked at the younger boy sitting in front of him. He was completely engrossed by the contents of his notebook; his pencil running smoothly on the paper surface. His eyes were hooded, long dark lashes sweeping across his cheekbone. His mouth was partly open, mumbling stuffs soundlessly as he wrote. His face looked so calm and focused, like it did on court. His white jacket was folded neatly and lied on top of his bag, while Bokuto's was thrown haphazardly on the bed. There was beads of sweat on his forehead and neck, beneath the ears, and the collar of his dark blue t-shirt had turned darker as it drenched.

Bokuto gulped. His eyes were trailing the other boy with inhibition, and he wanted to stop because the way he was noticing the curls of his friend's hair, and the slope of his nose, and the sharp line of his jaw— all of it was making him feel... something.

"...kuto-san? Bokuto-san?" Bokuto's mind snapped as the quiet but firm voice rang through his room. Akaashi was looking at him curiously. "What is it, Bokuto-san? You seem distracted." Akaashi, ever the considerate Akaashi, asked.

"N-Nothing!" Bokuto shook head vigorously to prove his point.

Akaashi frowned. "You've been staring," he said bluntly, and Bokuto almost flinched.

He mustered all of his courage to let out a shaky laugh. "W-What are you saying, Akaashi?!" He probably laughed a little too hard as Akaashi's lips pursed into a thin line. He tended to do that when he was experiencing something unimpressive, at least according to his tastes. Bokuto was in no position to argue about the impressiveness of his laughter. So instead, he said, "Hey, do you want tea? Wait here, I'll get you tea and something to eat!"

With that, Bokuto jumped to his feet, letting the notebook on his lap fall on the floor, and dashed out of the room without giving Akaashi any chance to say anything. As he ran downstairs to get the tea and snacks, he wondered about the weird incident he'd caused few minutes earlier, and how he couldn't stop looking — no, gazing— at Akaashi, and how it made him feel something indescribable in his veins.

The answer was probably clear.

He was bored.

Yes, it was all because he was bored. Nothing else. Nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the comments and the kudos and just for reading this story. I really appreciate it. ^u^
> 
> In this chapter, Bokuto is in third year and Akaashi in second year. The incident happens before the summer training camp, so there isn't any mention of Hinata or Tsukishima since they haven't met yet.
> 
> Enjoy!


	5. (v)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Haikyuu!! belongs to Haruichi Furudate.

It was a few days after Fukurodani had defeated Nekoma and had earned their spot in the Spring Tournament Nationals, but not before losing to Itachiyama. Everyone was in high spirit. It wasn't something new for Fukurodani to go to the Nationals; in fact, it'd be their ninth appearance in a row. But this year everyone was especially charged, Bokuto most of all, dying to play and win against Karasuno and Nekoma and Itachiyama and Inarizaki in his last tournament of high school. He was also extra pumped to clear his name as "one of the top five aces in the country but could've been in top three if he tried". No more "one of", this year he was going to be number one!

The others were very passionate this year too. Everyone was honing their skills, running more lapses, building more muscles, giving more into practice. As the captain and ace of the team, Bokuto was very impressed with everyone. Among their other practices, they also divided into two groups and played against each other. Fukurodani was a powerhouse school, thus had a deep bench. It was one such day that they were about to play against each other when the problem arose.

The problem wasn't anything serious, at least according to everyone else. But to Bokuto, it was a pretty damn big issue — the issue being Akaashi in the opposite team. It did _not_ happen often. In fact, it did not happen ever. There was some sort of unspoken rule that Bokuto and Akaashi would always be in the same team. Even when Bokuto was in his second year and Akaashi was a first year and the team's starting setter was someone different, Bokuto and Akaashi stayed in the same team whenever such practice matches within team occurred.

So, there was no reason for them to go into different teams. At the end of the day, Akaashi, being the starting setter of Fukurodani had to toss to the ace, and Bokuto believed that was how things should be. Only their coach disagreed. According to Coach Yamiji, Bokuto had to learn to co-ordinate with different setter and while Akaashi had a good enough partnership with everyone in the team, being in the opponent team of a top five ace would sharpen his strategic plannings in the game.

"But Akaashi and I are always in the same team!" Bokuto whined, for the umpteenth time this evening, pouting his lips to show his displeasure at the situation.

"Bokuto, c'mon!" Konoha barked. "Don't make a scene for something so small. Just shut up and play."

Bokuto completely ignored Konoha, and also Komi who was agreeing with Konoha. He kept his attention focused on the coach and began whining again. "Why do we have to be in different teams? I'm the ace! Akaashi will always toss to me, won't you, Akaashi?" Bokuto asked, glancing at the boy standing beside him with an impassive face.

"Yes, I will," Akaashi said, calm and collected while Bokuto was practically wailing. "But that is beside the point, Bokuto-san. You and I have a good partnership but if I, by some reason, have to be benched, it'll become a problem for the team if you don't have good co-ordination with Anahori."

That did make sense. But still. "Why will you be benched, Akaashi?!"

A collective sigh was heard, which was kind of normal. Whenever Bokuto was having a serious discussion, his stupid teammates would always sigh and look at Akaashi with pity. Bokuto never really knew the reason, but something told him he shouldn't ask either. So, he ignored them, focusing his eyes on Akaashi.

"I am not saying that I will be benched for sure," Akaashi said with the same calmness he always had. "But I am saying that there is a possibility. I may get injured, and in that case Anahori will have to set for you. So, it's better if you have a good partnership with him too."

Bokuto nodded his head. That made sense. There could be a lot of reasons for a player to be benched during a game. Well, not a lot, but a few for sure. Bokuto, himself, had to be benched once or twice because of his bad mood and what his team called as _"emo mode"._

"Yeah, okay," Bokuto said, and another collective sigh was heard, though this one sounded like of relief. Akaashi just nodded at him.

"Okay, don't waste any more time now," Coach Yamiji ordered, and everyone ran to the managers who were handing out practice vests. Bokuto pouted a little when he saw Akaashi wearing his blue vest and looked at his own yellow one. Even though he agreed to be on a different team than Akaashi, that didn't mean he was happy about it.

The practice began. Bokuto's team consisted of Onaga, Sarukui and Anahori among others while Akaashi's team had Konoha, Komi and Washio along with two others. Bokuto looked at Akaashi through the net and saw Akaashi looking back at him with his signature poker face. It was weird, seeing Akaashi through the net instead of just beside him. It was something unfamiliar, a situation Bokuto never even spared a moment to think about. Maybe he should have, considering that he'd graduate in a few months, and Akaashi would stay in school for another year.

The match was going well, everyone staying sharp in their game. Both the teams were scoring smoothly, the point lead never going beyond two points. Akaashi's team was currently leading, their point reaching 13 while Bokuto's team was still on 11. Everything was good, but it wasn't fun enough. And even though Bokuto was trying his best, he could realize that he wasn't performing his best. Two of his straights and one cross shot had been blocked by Akaashi's team, and most of his shots were being easily dug by Komi. In fact, Bokuto was slightly sure that Sarukui and Onaga had scored more points than he did.

But that wasn't his fault, really. Okay, it might have been slightly his fault, but he couldn't help it. Anahori wasn’t a bad setter. He might not be an A-grade setter, but he was adequate with his tosses. In fact, the other guys were hitting his tosses without much difficulty. But Bokuto just could not feel it with Anahori's tosses. When he hit them, he just couldn't give it his all no matter how much he tried. The ball against his palm didn't feel the same as it did with Akaashi.

The others began to notice the slip in his performance too. Bokuto could feel their eyes on him, and he wanted to hit a good shot and reassure them that he was, in fact, the best and there was no need to worry about him. But when his fourth spike of the match was kill-blocked by Washio, Bokuto felt his mood dampening and his energy draining from him.

"Don't mind, don't mind," Bokuto's team assured him, joined by the managers. Sarukui patted him on the back. "Don't mind. We'll score the next one."

Bokuto nodded, but his mood was already down the drain; his shoulders drooping along with his will. He was feeling angry and frustrated. He wanted to storm out of there, but he also wanted to play. He wanted to have fun. But how?!

Bokuto's eyes instinctively searched for Akaashi: first falling beside him and when he remembered they were not on the same team, his eyes found Akaashi through the net. Akaashi was looking back at him, silent and watchful. His eyes never wavered as he watched Bokuto intently without saying anything. Bokuto mood soured more. He was expecting Akaashi to say something to him, something that would cheer up his mood like he did every time Bokuto got dejected. But this time Akaashi didn't even say a single word to him, much less soothe him. Probably because he was Bokuto's opponent now.

The match continued on and Akaashi's team started to gain bigger point lead. Bokuto's mood only worsened with each point the opponent gained as well as each point his own team gained, thanks to someone else. But if he couldn't spike well, he'd at least give his all to blocking.

Bokuto and Akaashi were both in the front now, separated only by the net. Bokuto fixated his eyes on the opposite side of the court, looking out for the setter's gestures and the spikers running to spike. By the look of it, Akaashi was going to set to Konoha who had already leapt into the air. Bokuto and Onaga shifted fast to block Konoha, only the ball to drop on their side of the court.

"Ooh! A dump!" Suzumeda's cheerful voice rang inside the gym, along with her enthusiastic clapping, joined by Shirofuku. Bokuto glanced at the yellow and blue ball lying on his side of the court and looked up to see Akaashi looking directly at him — his eyes glinting, and mouth curled into a tiny hint of a smirk. Bokuto's mouth went dry.

"Good one, Akaashi," Bokuto could hear Konoha and Komi say, patting Akaashi on the back. Akaashi gave a small nod to the two before placing his eyes back on Bokuto. This time the look was different. Instead of intent and watchful, it was strong and challenging as if he was urging Bokuto to catch up to him. His gaze was completely different than what Bokuto was accustomed to. When they played together as a team, Akaashi was always efficient and collected, analysing the situation with calmness and logic. But this Akaashi was something else. This Akaashi was something he could not comprehend at the moment, but was intrigued, nonetheless.

Akaashi silently raised his eyebrow at Bokuto, the smirk still ghosting on his lips. Bokuto's heart tripped, his stomach twisting and his fingers tingling, as the setter flashed him a last look before turning away to talk to his teammates. Bokuto stood there with his eyes pinned on Akaashi as adrenaline flooded through his blood. He was not going to let Akaashi win so easily. He would be the one claiming victory, flashing Akaashi a smirk of his own. Would Akaashi smirk back? That was a thought of another time. Before that, he had to win.

That smirk of Akaashi — he'd think about that later. And the twisting of his stomach and tingling of his body — he was going to blame those on the adrenaline rush he was having.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is set before Nationals begin. Hope you guys will like it. Enjoy!


	6. (+i)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Haikyuu!! belongs to Haruichi Furudate.

Bokuto’s last days of high school weren’t going the way he’d hope they would. In fact, none of the things happened from the list he’d made in his mind when he’d first become a third-year. He had a lot of hopes for this year and when his time in high school was rapidly coming to an end, he found out that not even a single thing came to be true.

Fukurodani didn't win the Nationals. He hadn't led his team to victory. He wasn't the number one Ace in the whole country. Akaashi hadn't acknowledged him as the best yet. He wasn't the tallest player in his team (he didn't even get taller than Kuroo). He couldn't defeat Shirofuku in a yakiniku eating face-off. His math test score hadn't gotten better. And he hadn't gotten a single confession.

Some of them were things that were set in stone and he could nothing to change them — like everything related to volleyball. It had hurt, when those ambitions that were so precious to him didn't come true. But he was done moping around for it. All he could do was to learn from his experience and move on.

Some of the other stuffs weren't as absolute as the volleyball ones, but they were features so difficult, they might as well be. Like improving his test scores. Or making Akaashi acknowledge that Bokuto was the best there was. He had tried to make them come true several times, not the score one — making Akaashi say he was the best one — but to no avail. Akaashi's heart was immovable, and his intent to not recognize Bokuto as the best was stronger than iron. At this point, Bokuto had practically given up on it.

The others, like being taller than his teammates and Kuroo was beyond his power. But he was eating lots of meat and milk now, so he hoped he might achieve that feat in the future. Defeating Shirofuku in an eating competition was nothing short of impossible, but unlike in Akaashi's case, Bokuto hadn't given up on that yet. One day he was going to overthrow the gluttonous female from her throne as the queen of eating. The last one i.e. the confession one was something Bokuto really regretted.

As much as it bruised his ego, Bokuto had to admit that he hadn't been as popular with his peers as he had hoped during his three years in high school. Sure, a lot of the student body came to see his matches and cheered for him, chanting his name in celebration as he scored points for his team. But sadly, his popularity ended on the court.

Every once in a while, he did hear about girls who had been extremely impressed by him from Akaashi and Shirofuku, but he never got to meet them, and they also didn't try to find him after the match. Bokuto never knew why. Sometimes he doubted that Akaashi and Shirofuku were lying to him and there was actually no girl who was awed by his razor-sharp cross shots and his amazing straight shots.

But Bokuto's doubt vanished when one day a girl timidly peeked inside the gym after school hour had ended.

At first Bokuto didn't notice her. He was busy setting the net and Akaashi was taking out the volleyball cart from the store room. Their official practice session had ended two weeks ago since the tournament season was over. The third years had retired from the club, choosing Akaashi as the next captain of the team with Onaga being his vice-captain. But Bokuto still came to practice every day. He had to keep practicing if he wanted to be better, and he definitely wanted to be better than everyone, especially since his spike of the final match of Nationals was blocked by Ichibayashi's blockers, causing them to lose the match.

Bokuto still pestered Akaashi to practice with him every day, and Akaashi never turned him down, agreeing to it without a single complaint. He was diligent like that. He had always been this hard-working, but it didn't stop Bokuto from feeling a little grateful nonetheless. So here they were, the only two people in the gym about to play volleyball until their bodies gave out when the newcomer peeked inside.

Akaashi was the first one to notice her as he came out of the store room with the volleyball cart. "Excuse me," Akaashi called, polite as ever. "Did you need something?"

"Huh?" Bokuto followed Akaashi's eyes towards the door and found a girl standing near the doorway unsurely. What was a girl doing there at this time when school was over almost thirty minutes ago and most of the club activities were put off? _‘Ah, she must be here for Akaashi,’_ Bokuto thought bitterly. Despite his stoic manners and neural expressions, the setter did have a number of admirers who approached him occasionally, only to be turned down. And besides, judging by the shy expression the girl was wearing, it wasn’t too farfetched to conclude that she was there to confess.

“Um,” the girl started a bit unsure, glancing away where her friends were probably hiding and silently encouraging her. It was cute, but Bokuto still felt annoyed for reasons he didn’t know and didn’t bother to think about. There were lots of better things to think about, anyway – like volleyball and beef liver. “I wanted to talk to Bokuto-senpai…” the girl trailed off, fixing her eyes firmly on the ground.

_Oh._

“M-Me?!” Bokuto yelled, and the girl flinched at the sudden exclamation. She nodded and stared at him horrifically, not sure what conclusion to take away from the outburst. Bokuto’s cheeks reddened with embarrassment; he did not mean to yell but the surprise was too great to stay calm about. It was practically a _shock_. No girl had ever come to talk to him like _this_ , and he was this close to give up on that wishful thought. But what was thinking about? He was the best; of course, girls would want him!

“Yeah, sure!” Bokuto beamed at her, and she offered a smile in return. Bokuto turned to look at Akaashi who was looking back at him with his neutral face. Bokuto sulked a little in his mind: Akaashi could have been a little more excited for his former captain. It was not like Bokuto got visits like this all the time. Noting in his head to scold Akaashi later about this, Bokuto smiled at the setter, mainly because he was too giddy to be angry at the moment. “Akaashi, you warm up, okay? I’ll be back in five minutes.”

Akaashi nodded. “Take your time. I’ll wait, Bokuto-san.”

Bokuto’s smile faltered, and he didn’t know why. He just didn’t feel as giddy anymore. He offered a half-assed smile to Akaashi and walked away. The girl was still standing on the doorway; she bowed a little at Akaashi before hurrying off, with Bokuto on her tow.

They stopped under a Sakura tree: soft breeze flowing around and a beautiful girl standing in front to him to confess. It was everything Bokuto had dreamt of in the numerous fantasies he had of this moment. Yet, he wasn’t feeling the way he was supposed to be feeling. There was something nagging him deep in his mind, only he didn’t know what. But he wasn’t going to let this unknown something taint his only experience of being confessed to. So, he pushed those away and smiled at the girl who was looking shyly at him.

On their way here, Bokuto had learned that her name was Ishikawa Chiharu and she was a first year. She was in the poetry club and she had been to all of Fukurodani’s matches in the Nationals. She seemed like a nice, gentle girl, and as moments passed between them in silence, Bokuto’s anxiousness grew. _‘How does Akaashi handle this situation so many times?!’_

“Bokuto-senpai,” Ishikawa said softly, looking at her shoes. She had a sweet melodic voice, completely different than Akaashi’s flat voice and no-nonsense tone. Bokuto gulped. Okay, this was happening.

“Y-Yes?”

Ishikawa raised her head and looked at him in the eyes, her eyes intent and resolved. “I like you. Please go out with me, Bokuto-senpai!”

_Bokuto-senpai._ The first thing that struck Bokuto was how he was addressed. For some reason, the moment he heard her call him, he couldn’t help but draw comparison to the way Akaashi always addressed him: Bokuto-san. Bokuto always wanted to be called senpai, but…

He looked at her. She was really pretty and cute too. She had long and straight brown hair, framing her face beautifully, her cheeks were tinted pink. Her nose was small and her lips soft pink. Her eyes were large and hazel colored, staring at him with an expectant look. Bokuto suddenly remembered an afternoon that had happened months ago: Akaashi and he sitting on his bedroom floor, studying for tests before their summer training camp. He recalled how Akaashi had looked on that day. Unlike this pretty girl in front of him, Akaashi’s hair was dark and messy, curling around the ends. His eyes weren’t beautiful hazel, but an interesting mixture of blue, green and grey. Wait, why was he thinking about Akaashi, again?

“Bokuto-senpai?” Ishikawa called, snapping Bokuto out of his reverie. She was looking a little worried, and he realized that he still hadn’t answered her. He didn’t know why he hadn’t. Whenever he had thought about getting a confession, he’d always known that his answer would be a ‘yes’. The girl would shyly smile at him and he would have the best love story in the world. But now that it was really happening, he found him baffled. He opened his mouth to say yes, he’d go out with her, but what came surprised him as it surprised her.

“How do you know you like me?”

Ishikawa blinked at him a few times, surprised and confused. Then she lowered her gaze to her shoes again, the red in her cheeks deepening. “I always thought you were cool,” Ishikawa began, her voice sweet and pleasant. “But when I saw you play, I thought you were really, really cool,” she clutched her hands together, holding them close to her chest. “When I saw you spike a ball, my heart skipped a beat and I felt warm…”

Why did all of these sound so familiar?

“…and I like how you look,” Ishikawa added quietly, and if it some other time, Bokuto would’ve blushed thirty shades of red. But at this moment, there was only one thing running in his mind – and it was the fact that he was a total moron. How could he _not_ see this? How could he _not_ realize? It was right front of his eyes, day after day, month after month, yet he hadn’t noticed it. He should have, with everything he did and everything he felt pointed towards only one fact.

He was in love.

Bokuto saw Ishikawa standing in front of him with blushing cheeks and hopeful eyes, cute and pretty, and his mind immediately replaced the scene with another one – replacing Ishikawa with another person who did not blush or spoke sweetly, instead gave flat looks and passed blunt comments. But he like it that way: not sweet and pleasant, but exciting and comforting.

He knew what his answer was going to be, and it felt horrible as he began speaking. “Ishikawa-san, I’m sorry. I can’t go out with you.”

Ishikawa stared at him, sadness and disappointment settling in her big eyes. “Oh,” she said softly, tearing her eyes away from him. A pang of guilt poked Bokuto’s heart. “I understand. You’re graduating soon and why would you go out with someone like me anyway –”

“No, no, that’s not it!” Bokuto yelled, too hyper to keep to a normal voice. “You’re great! You’re very pretty and cute and great! It’s just… It’s just…” Ishikawa looked up, eyes questioning and this time Bokuto blushed. “It’s just that I’m in love with someone. In fact, I’ve been in love with them for a long time. I just didn’t realize it before. But thanks to you, I finally know. So, thank you very much and I am very, _very_ sorry for not being able to return your feelings!”

Ishikawa didn’t say anything for some seconds, just staring at him and Bokuto felt like the worst human being in the world. He wanted to apologize again, but before he could say anything, Ishikawa spoke. “It’s okay. You don’t have to apologize to me,” she offered him a small smile. “I am glad I could help. Thank you for being honest with me.”

Bokuto beamed at her, feeling light and grateful. He thanked her again, bowing his head before dashing towards the gym. He had wasted too much time being an idiot and not knowing his own feelings. He wasn’t going to waste any more time. He was going to confess to feelings, no matter what outcome might come. He could easily be turned down; in fact, he was probably going to be turned down. But he still had to confess.

When Bokuto reached the gym, Akaashi wasn’t warming up. He was sitting on floor, holding a ball close to him and staring off at the vacant court. His face was as flat as ever, but still Bokuto couldn’t help but feel that Akaashi looked sad. Why?

“Akaashi,” Bokuto called, walking towards him with racing heart. Akaashi almost jumped at the sudden sound, and sighed when he saw Bokuto coming. He got up on his feet, letting the ball from his hands. He wasn’t looking at Bokuto.

“Ah, Bokuto-san,” he bent down to pick the bottle of water from the floor. “I’m sorry I didn’t warm up. I’ll warm up now.” He still wasn’t looking at Bokuto.

“No, it’s alright,” Bokuto said calmly even though he was anything but calm in the inside. “Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something.”

Akaashi froze in his act of drinking water, the bottle frozen merely inches away from his mouth. But as always, he regained his composure quickly. “What is it?” He still wasn’t looking at Bokuto. It was getting frustrating, really. Why was Akaashi acting so weird?! It was totally unlike him.

“Akaashi, are you angry with me or something?” Bokuto asked, a little impatient and a little annoyed. Akaashi finally looked at him, and Bokuto instantly regretted pressing him. Akaashi was beautiful – not just pretty and cute and attractive, but really beautiful. Bokuto felt like he could spend ages looking at the same face and he would not get bored for a single second, because Akaashi’s eyes were a maze and he would never know how to get out. In fact, he did not want to get out.

“Why would I be angry with you, Bokuto-san?” Akaashi asked, frowning his brows. He looked genuinely confused. When Bokuto just shrugged, he gave his former captain a blank look. “I actually wanted to congratulate you. I’m happy for you.”

Now it was Bokuto’s turn to be confused. “Why are you happy for me?”

Akaashi looked alarmed, but only for a second before his neutral expression was back. “Bokuto-san finally has a girlfriend like he always wanted. Of course, I am happy for him.”

Oh, that. “But I don’t have a girlfriend, Akaashi,” Bokuto said, ignoring his roaring heart. This was it. He was going to confess. “I didn’t accept Ishikawa-san’s confession.”

“What? Why?”

“Because I cannot return her feelings, y’know,” Bokuto said, mumbling the next words with his cheeks flaming. “I already like someone else.”

“Oh,” Akaashi’s voice came unusually strained. It sounded foreign to Bokuto, not the exciting kind, but the kind that made his heart ache. Akaashi lowered his eyes again, his hold on the bottle tightening. “May I ask who?”

“It’s you, Akaashi!” Bokuto kind of yelled. He was never the graceful one, and he hoped Akaashi wouldn’t mind his brashness too much. But what was he thinking? Of course, Akaashi wouldn’t mind. It was Akaashi, after all, and he was currently looking at Bokuto with wide eyes. Bokuto didn’t know what that look meant, but he couldn’t back out now. He had to let Akaashi know his feelings. “I like you, Akaashi! Like really, _really_ like you!”

Akaashi just gaped at him with wide eyes, his face revealing nothing. It was a little disconcerting, and now that his feelings were out in the open, Bokuto felt awfully vulnerable. “Say something, Akaashi!” Bokuto whined. “It’s okay if you don’t like me back, y’know. I mean I didn’t like Ishikawa-san, so I guess things like this happen. You can just tell me, Akaashi. You don’t have to worry about me being sad. I mean I’ll be sad, a little. No, actually a lot. But you don’t have to worry about me! I’m an ordinary ace, after all! I can handle rejec –”

“I like you too, Bokuto-san.”

“– tion… Wait, what?!”

Now, Bokuto was gaping at Akaashi who was smiling at him with the pink tinting his cheeks. He put the bottle on the floor and took strides closer to Bokuto, until their shoes were touches. Their faces were merely inches apart, and the Bokuto blushed at the sudden proximity… and the confession he got from the setter.

“I said I like you too. Like really, _really_ like you.” Akaashi’s voice wasn’t sweet and melodic; it was flat and monotonous. But Bokuto’s heart soared anyway. He never wanted to hear those words in any way other than this, from anyone other than the beautiful boy standing in front of him with a gleam in his eyes that Bokuto had never witnessed. “And I always have to worry about you.”

“Akaashi! You should say I never make you worry!” Bokuto whined.

“That’s clearly not true, Bokuto-san. Remember how you ran into a telephone pole yesterday.”

Bokuto’s face reddened. He did _not_ need a reminder of that incident. So, he pouted. “Y’know Akaashi, I like you a lot, but you’re kinda mean!”

Akaashi laughed at that, and Bokuto remembered the first time he’d heard Akaashi laugh at the expense of getting hit on the head with a ball. Just like that day, his cheeks burned and his heart raced and he felt no sound could ever be this pleasant expect the laugh of this beautiful setter. All this time, he was in love with Akaashi and he didn’t notice. But looking at Akaashi’s face now, blushing and laughing, Bokuto had a feeling he would always, _always_ be in love with Akaashi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And it'd done! Thanks for reading the story. I hope Bokuto and Akaashi stayed in character throughout the story and particularly in this chapter. If you think something can be improved, please let me know. I like hearing from you guys.
> 
> P.S. I'll update "Bet on It" soon. Thanks for waiting!
> 
> Bye!

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this one probably a month ago and completely forgot about it. Then two ago I suddenly discovered this tiny little piece of mine. Hope you guy will like it. Now that Haikyuu!! has ended, I'm sitting here and crying about it. God, I'm gonna miss it!! And as you guys can tell, I'm still in Bokuaka hell :P
> 
> Please let me know what you guys think. I love hearing from you, and any criticism is welcome. Ja ne!


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